This invention relates generally to emergency brake systems and more particularly to means for automatically braking a train upon derailment.
Prior to the teachings of the present invention, no effective system existed for automatically braking a railroad train upon derailment of one or more of the railroad cars. It often occurs on long trains that one or more of the railroad cars may derail, yet the engineer is not aware of the situation until the damage created by the derailment has become excessive. It is very common for one or more cars to derail yet the locomotive will drag the derailed cars without the knowledge of the engineer with the subsequent result that many more of the other cars in the train also become derailed and even uncoupled so that very extensive damage is created to surrounding property by runaway cars and to many of the railroad cars themselves as well as the railroad tracks and bed.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a braking system which will quickly and automatically activate the train brakes upon derailment of the first car to thereby bring the train to an efficient and safe stop before extensive damage is done to life and property.
Systems do presently exist for railroad trains to activate the train brake system should the train inadvertently pass a red light or a switch which it should not have passed and could thereby cause danger of possible collision with other trains. These mechanisms generally consist of some type of mechanical element which is raised or engaged at the side of the railroad bed when this dangerous situation exists to engage a contact on the train or locomotive which will activate the emergency brake system. However, such emergency brake systems are not applicable to train derailment situations. For years, the railroad industry has been searching for an effective derailment emergency brake system. In this search, very complicated systems have been devised which work on electrical or electronic principles, yet they have been found to be extremely expensive and not practical or fully reliable.